Mantis Robotics Achieves Fenceless Safety Milestone
Mantis Robotics has achieved safety certification for the first industrial robot designed to operate at high speed without a physical safety fence. The certification signals that vision-based collaborative safety systems are now robust enough for human-robot coexistence in unstructured environments. This breakthrough is considered foundational for deploying humanoids and other AI-enabled robots in manufacturing, logistics, and public spaces.
- The Mantis MR-1 robot's certification was granted against ISO 10218 and ISO 13849 standards, which are international benchmarks for the safety of industrial robots and the safety-related parts of control systems. All 47 of its embedded safety features are certified to Performance Level d (PL=d), indicating a high degree of reliability against failure. - Mantis Robotics was founded in 2020 by Gerry Vannuffelen, a robotics industry veteran, with the stated goal of making automation more flexible and accessible by removing the need for physical safety infrastructure. The company's engineering team is highly specialized, with 90% of its members holding Master's or PhD degrees. - The company has raised at least $7.32 million, with key investors including the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and Emerald Technology Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on climate change and sustainability. This backing signals confidence from major players in both e-commerce logistics and industrial technology. - The core technology, termed "Physical AI," uses a proprietary sensor suite to create a 360° safety bubble, enabling the robot to perceive its environment and adjust its motion in real-time to avoid collisions with dynamic objects. This proactive collision avoidance differs from traditional collaborative robots which often rely on passive, collision-triggered stops. - This certification allows the MR-1 to operate at speeds up to 10 m/s without a fence, a significant departure from many collaborative robots that sacrifice speed for safety. By eliminating physical barriers like mesh fences and light curtains, the technology can reduce total automation deployment costs by up to 75%. - The certification was issued by TÜV Rheinland, a globally recognized third-party testing and certification organization that provides independent validation of product safety and quality for numerous industries, including industrial automation and robotics.
